Are Newcastle United currently the worst team in the Premier League?

You’d think that a game between two sides battling over a league position would produce a competitive and close match.

Certainly that was what I was expecting from the clash between Southampton and Newcastle.

It was anything but. It was an annihilation – pure and simple.

Having followed this season intently, there have been so many amazing games and moments. I thought I’d seen it all for this campaign but I was wrong. Because I’ve seen nothing quite as one-sided as the so-called contest at St Mary’s.

Without our sympathetic passing up of so many chances, the scoreline could have been anything. Credit must be given to Newcastle’s goalkeeper Rob Elliot, who was excellent in goal and denied us on a number of occasions.

I’m not sure any of the other players in yellow and blue deserve anything though. Their performance was laughably poor and it shows why Saints fans should be thrilled with what we’re seeing from our players at the minute.

We’re seeing quality, we’re seeing goals, we’re seeing wins but most of all we’re seeing passion and commitment. None of these were on offer from Newcastle – which is amazing considering how strong their support was.

I can put up with defeats and disappointments for Saints so long as the effort is there. That’s why the loss to Spurs was one that was forgotten quickly – genuine mistakes were made at the back but we fought to the end to try and hold on to a point.

But there was nothing in the way of fight from the Magpies. Their players should have been embarrassed to confront the travelling support after the final whistle, and they owe them better from now until the end of the campaign.

Thankfully from a Saints perspective, we’ve been able to take pride in our players throughout the entire season and their performance was as good as they have put in all year long.

It was another superb attacking display and the trio of Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert were an irresistible combination once again. They cut the opposition defence apart frequently, and the only disappointment for them was that they didn’t convert more of the opportunities they created.

Our passing play was a joy to behold, and it has been an immense pleasure to witness us play such wonderful football this season. If anything we’re playing even better as the season is drawing to a close, which is testament to the squad and the manager.

I would have hated it if our season had petered out and I’m so glad that the whole team is showing the determination to finish as high as they can.

Let’s hope we can get the eighth place (or perhaps seventh) that we deserve in the final six games.